JASON CLARK / Courier & Press
Mater Dei's Hunter Owen, front right, slides safely into second base ahead of the throw as Memorial's Sam Griggs tries to make the play during the fourth inning at Stone Field on Thursday. The game was suspended with no score in the fifth inning because of rain and hail.

Mater Dei's Seth LaRue, right, dives back to first base ahead of a tag by Memorial's Tyler Murphy during a pickoff attempt in the second inning of their game at Stone Field.

Quentin Merkel

As hail bounced off the bleachers during a rain delay in the fifth inning on Thursday at Stone Field, Memorial High School baseball coach Quentin Merkel was stymied in his quest for his 900th career victory.

"It was called because it was wet, but it did hail," said Merkel, who will go for No. 900 at 6 p.m. today at Castle. "I've been fortunate. I've had some very good players. I've had a very good coaching staff. Right now, we have one of the best coaching staffs in the nation."

Mater Dei's Michael McIntosh and the Tigers' Brett Collins were locked in a 0-0 pitching duel when the game was suspended with the Wildcats' Tyler Walsh on first and nobody out in the top of the fifth. The game will resume at that point before their regularly scheduled game on May 13 at Bosse Field. Mater Dei is 7-3 and ranked No. 8 in Class 2A; the Tigers are 5-4.

"I just think both (McIntosh and Collins) were throwing the ball well," Merkel said. "They were mixing their pitches. Both are nice pitchers."

"I knew we were going to get hit by the rain," he said. "I was looking at the radar after school. Then you could see hail balls come and it was pretty crazy."

In his 42nd season as Memorial's coach, Merkel has posted a record of 899-322, best among Indiana's active coaches and among the leaders nationally.

"We respect him, but we want to go out and beat him," Hess said. "We want to win every day."

A member of Merkel's coaching staff for the most part since 1983, David Hayden took a few years off when he was the Tigers' head basketball coach.

"I learned a lot of baseball from him — just how to win — and how to approach the game and never give up," Hayden said. "He's extremely hard working. He expects people to perform. If they don't do it, he'll let you know what you did wrong. He wants to win and he really works hard to get that."

Inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame during a ceremony conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations in Minneapolis in 2009, Merkel was also inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.

He guided the Tigers to state championships in 1978, 1989 and 1993, plus three second-place finishes. Even though future major leaguers Don Mattingly and Jeff Schulz played for the 1978 state champions and '79 runners-up and won 59 in a row, Merkel didn't want to distinguish between teams.

"Those three (championship teams) were all a lot of fun," said Merkel, who has also lifted Memorial to 22 sectional championships, 15 regional titles, 10 semistate crowns and 17 Southern Indiana Athletic Conference titles.

"You've got to have some talent if you want to win. You can train a mule all you want to, but he's not going to win the Kentucky Derby."